Hybrid termite colonies confirmed in Florida, raising concerns over spread and damage

[DBoon]

https://phys.org/news/2025-05-hybrid-termite-colonies-florida.html

Scientists confirm that two of the world's most destructive invasive termite species are not only spreading in the United States but also hybridizing—the process of two different species crossbreeding to produce a hybrid.

This raises concerns about their potential to spread farther and cause even greater structural and environmental damage.

A new study from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) confirms that hybrid termite colonies have now been established in South Florida. Just published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the study documents how the invasive Formosan subterranean termites and Asian subterranean termites are not only coexisting in urban environments but also breed with each other.

"About 10 years ago, we first observed males and females from the two species interact through interspecies courtship behaviors during spring termite dispersal flights," said Thomas Chouvenc, associate professor of urban entomology at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center and lead author of the study. "This was unexpected, and it raised red flags about the possibility of hybrid populations forming in the field."

The coming termite apocalypse!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Building insurance in Florida becoming untenable due to rising sea levels, drained aquifers, & climate change. . nt

[bucolic_frolic]

2. They told us in the 1980s they would make plastic 2x4s

Then they suggested steel framing. .... I suspect 99.45% of houses are too late.

[Liberty Belle]

3. We had these in La Mesa, CA 25 years ago. I had a fun interview holding officials' feet to the fire.

Two state agencies were arguing over whose jurisdiction this was; Agricultural was claiming not theirs since the Formosan termites were found at a residence.

I was writing for San Diego's largest newspaper at the time, as a freelancer. So I called the CA Dept. of Agriculture in Sacramento at lunchtime and lucked out; amazingly the director answered the phone. After he denied any responsibility to eradicate the invasive termites and said they were not a threat to agriculture, I asked him what California's #1 and #2 crops were. Acting as if I was stupid, he replied, "Oranges and avocados, of course."

I fired back, "Did you know that these Formosan termites were not found in a house, but eating up citrus and avocado trees on the owner's property?"

Lots of stammering ensued, and I'm pretty sure the guy never answered the main office line at lunch time again.

That was my last assignment for that newspaper, as I wound up suing them for copyright infringement of several hundred of my freelance works that they resold without permission. But I never heard about those termites spreading, so pretty sure that interview resulted in appropriate treatment to eradicate them here. They can level a house in three months--voracious little beasties!

My lawsuit, by the way, was joined by major writers' groups and expanded to file against most major newspapers in North America. It took over two decades, but we ultimately won a landmark settlement of many millions of dollars for freelance journalists across the U.S.

I live in La Mesa, and have caught termites in a jar and had them checked over the years. Thankfully they were all native varieties.

[intheflow]

4. They should all be relocated to Mar-a-Lago and all

Trump golf courses immediately.